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All Erik Karlsson did last season was lead NHL defencemen in scoring by 25 points.

This year, he could wind up being the top scoring blue-liner in two leagues.

Yup, a pair of scoring titles in the same season.

It's probably safe to say that's never been done before, right?

Karlsson, who played 30 games for Jokerit in Finland's SM-Liiga during the lockout, has what looks to be an insurmountable lead among all defencemen in one of Europe's strongest loops. The 34 points he amassed before Christmas remains 11 more than Teemu Aalto has in 49 games for Tappara Tampere.

Aalto has only 11 more games to make up the difference.

Now, the fourth-year Senator is no lock to repeat as the NHL's top scoring rearguard in this shortened season. But few would bet against him, either.

In Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres, Karlsson notched his fourth goal of the season, tying him with Montreal's Andre Markov for the league lead for defenceman Combined with his four assists, it leaves Karlsson just four behind the pace-setter in points, Winnipeg's Tobias Enstrom.

Oh, and then there's the defensive play Karlsson's been giving the Senators through 10 games this season. Asked Wednesday how much the defending Norris Trophy winner has improved in his own zone from last season, Senators coach Paul MacLean was succinct.

"I think he's improving," MacLean said of the 22-year old known simply as 'Karl' among friends. "He hasn't gotten worse, that's for sure. I think the defensive part of his game, he learns more about it all the time.

"I'd say he could be the best player in the league," added MacLean. "We haven't seen all the teams, but I know that if you have the puck all the time, you don't have to defend. Quite often he has the puck -- so he doesn't have to defend."

One thing is for sure -- nobody controls the tempo of a game the way the speedy Karlsson does from the Senators' back end. And but a very few are relied on more than the Senators do their No. 65.

Against the Sabres, Karlsson logged 31:15 of ice time, which was actually a bit of a break from the 32:08 he worked in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Habs. Only twice did he play more than 31 minutes in 2011-12 -- when he was on for 32:44 during a 3-1 loss to St. Louis Feb. 7 and the 32:39 he saw in an overtime win over New Jersey Jan. 2.

"I feel great," Karlsson said Wednesday at Scotiabank Place. "I feel I can play more, if I can. Got to limit it somewhere, but as long as my body feels good, I don't have issues playing a lot of minutes."

Karlsson played more than 30 minutes seven times last year, including once in the playoffs. He eclipsed the 30-minute mark twice in 2010-11 and just once the previous season, as a rookie - when he played 40:38 of a triple overtime playoff victory over Pittsburgh.

"We're just 10 games in, there's still 38 to go plus some more, hopefully," said Karlsson. "You've just got to try and take care of your body every day, stay in shape and go from there."

Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson were given Wednesday off to rest, while their teammates practised in preparation for Thursday's visit by the Carolina Hurricanes.

"I ran a bit today, did some things in the gym," said Karlsson. "Just to keep the body in check. And got a nice massage."

Contributing to Karlsson's added workload is the penalty killing responsibilities he has inherited.

"If they get a lot of pressure, it gets pretty tough," he said of short-handed situations. "There's lots of standing around as well. You just make reads, try to figure out what's going on out there. But 5-on-5 is probably the most difficult and most exhausting part of the game."

Darting ahead of the play in anticipation of a breakaway pass would also wear a guy out, but with the way Karlsson can fly MacLean has to give him the green light.

"Every once in a while you've got to improvise," Karlsson said with a smile. You've got to be there for a teammate, wherever that is on the ice."

Karlsson doesn't believe he's yet played his best hockey this season, which also bodes well for the Senators if true.

"Experience has a little bit to do with it, obviously," he said. "I'm just trying to figure out things every day. There's always situations out there when you don't really know what to do, and you have to think a little more. Defensive zone (play), I've been working on ever since I got in the league, and I'm going to keep working on it until I get out of it."

Minutemen

A look at the players leading the league in average ice time this season:

Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson adding more to his game this season

All Erik Karlsson did last season was lead NHL defencemen in scoring by 25 points.

This year, he could wind up being the top scoring blue-liner in two leagues.

Yup, a pair of scoring titles in the same season.

It's probably safe to say that's never been done before, right?

Karlsson, who played 30 games for Jokerit in Finland's SM-Liiga during the lockout, has what looks to be an insurmountable lead among all defencemen in one of Europe's strongest loops. The 34 points he amassed before Christmas remains 11 more than Teemu Aalto has in 49 games for Tappara Tampere.

Aalto has only 11 more games to make up the difference.

Now, the fourth-year Senator is no lock to repeat as the NHL's top scoring rearguard in this shortened season. But few would bet against him, either.